


it's better than regretting

by FunkyinFishnet



Category: Formula 1 RPF
Genre: Accidental Marriage, Friends to Lovers, Las Vegas Wedding, M/M, Male Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-09
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-16 08:27:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,313
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29947209
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FunkyinFishnet/pseuds/FunkyinFishnet
Summary: Charles needed to...he needed to know what the fuck to do. He couldn’t ring Seb though, Seb was going to murder him. Who forgot their own wedding? Charles looked around frantically, where was his phone? Oh, it was on the nightstand, and it was plugged into its charger? How the fuck did Charles remember to do that and not remember his own wedding? There were papers there too, official papers that stated that yes, Charles Leclerc had legally married Lando Norris. George and Alex had been the witnesses. They hadn’t stopped it, so had they been drunk too? Oh, they were going murder him as well.
Relationships: Antonio Giovinazzi/Kimi Räikkönen/Sebastian Vettel, Charles Leclerc/Lando Norris, Daniel Ricciardo/Max Verstappen, Pierre Gasly/Daniil Kvyat
Comments: 11
Kudos: 99





	it's better than regretting

**Author's Note:**

> Title is from 'Crashed the Wedding' by Busted.

Charles woke up with a headache so big he could barely see. He groaned, wincing at the light spilling through the gaps in the blinds. His mouth felt like sandpaper and the sheets felt wrong. And fuck, he felt sick, so sick that he tumbled out of bed and just about made it to the en-suite toilet to throw up.

Jesus. He rested his head against cold porcelain. He couldn’t remember how much he’d drunk but it’d been a  **good** night, he remembered that. A postseason blow-out weekend in Las Vegas had been an amazing idea, everyone had needed it. At least half the grid had come, and it’d been the last night before leaving so it’d been huge.

Charles remembered a lot of card games, a lot of drinking, the roulette wheels spinning. He remembered teasing Sebastian as he left with Kimi, or was it Antonio? He remembered Lando, George and Alex, especially Lando. He remembered loving the way Lando's eyes shone, Lando blushing and laughing when Charles told him. He remembered trying to tell the whole casino how beautiful Lando was. He could laugh that off as the drink now. He remembered wanting to swim in some fountains, George had heaved him back, pointing out how gross a wet bed would be because there was no way any of them were gonna undress him later.

Charles frowned, why did it feel like there was something else? Why did he remember people congratulating him? And kissing, lots of kissing. His grip tightened on the toilet and something scraped the porcelain.

Charles froze, then stared down at his hand. He should have shouted but he couldn’t make a sound. He was wearing a wedding ring. Why the fuck was he wearing a wedding ring??

He stumbled to his feet and back into the bedroom where he should have shouted again because Lando was in his bed. Charles’s heart thumped loudly, at least one part of him wasn’t staying silent. Yep, Lando was wearing a wedding ring too.

Charles needed to...he needed to know what the fuck to do. He couldn’t ring Seb though, Seb was going to  **murder** him. Who forgot their own wedding? Charles looked around frantically, where was his phone? Oh, it was on the nightstand, and it was plugged into its charger? How the fuck did Charles remember to do that and not remember his own wedding? There were papers there too, official papers that stated that yes, Charles Leclerc had legally married Lando Norris. George and Alex had been the witnesses. They hadn’t stopped it, so had they been drunk too? Oh, they were going murder him as well.

Charles rushed back into the bathroom, closed the door and rang Pierre.

“Charles, I thought you would be enjoying married life,” Pierre answered the call sounding distracted and muffled.

Charles closed his eyes in despair, did everyone know about this but him? “You know?”

Pierre laughed, “George and Alex called last night, no, early this morning.”

“Very early this morning,” muttered Dany, also muffled, somewhere on Pierre’s side of the call.

There were sleepy sounds of kissing and soft Russian. Charles rolled his eyes in annoyance, couldn’t they stop for one second? He needed help. The sounds reminded him of last night’s kissing though. He hissed sharply - had he kissed Lando? All he could remember was the sensation of a mouth on his, no details, no identity. He moaned in frustration.

“Charles?” Pierre and Dany had finally stopped kissing apparently, “How bad is your hangover? They said you both passed out on the bed.”

Charles shook his head, wincing, “As bad as summer 2015.”

“Oh, then it could be worse, like 2016.”

Charles was still thinking about the kissing, trying to vainly catch any details, “Seb is going to kill me.”

“For not inviting him to the wedding?  _ Non _ , but did you wear a suit?.”

Charles groaned, “Shit.”

“But you can do photos later, even another ceremony, for everyone who missed out.”

“You’d be best man,” Charles stated with a faint smile.

“Of course, I accept,” Pierre sounded pleased. “You have already taken care of the bachelor party though.”

Charles’s smile faded, memories clashing. He sighed, glancing towards the door, where his  **husband** lay.

“Pierre, I don’t remember it,” he blurted out

“The bachelor party?”

“Most of last night. I have memories but they don’t connect and I do not remember getting married. This is why Seb will kill me.”

There was a brief pause and Dany muttered something that sounded very judgemental and amused before he started to kiss Pierre again. Charles scowled and stared at the wedding ring again. It was very real, and very cheap-looking. God, he was a cheap amnesiac husband.

“I don’t think you should tell Lando that,” Pierre stated seriously. “He will be very offended if you cannot remember marrying him.”

What?! Had Pierre gone kiss-stupid? “Pierre, he’s one of my best friends and I’ve ruined that by marrying him! His team is going to kill me, his family, **he** is going to kill me when he wakes up!”

It got worse the more Charles thought about it. He had to find a way to escape Vegas.

“Charles, you married someone very dear to you.”

“Very dear? I didn’t say that.”

“No, because you are stupid,” That was Dany “You stare at Lando with big moon eyes, now you are married to him. So be happy, and go away.”

Charles spluttered, especially when Pierre didn’t correct his boyfriend, “You  **do** look at him a lot, Charles. I know that look, it’s a good look. Of course he was your choice last night.”

How could they be so calm? So matter-of-fact? This wasn’t a romantic comedy. Charles had married Lando, who Charles loved, yes, a lot. But Lando had never shown any interest in Charles beyond friendship so Charles hadn’t even hinted at it and had streamed and laughed with Lando instead, while very very secretly loving him. There was no way Lando wanted this. He didn’t usually drink, he wouldn’t have done this without so much alcohol involved.

“And we do need to go, it’s only three hours until the flight home. We will see you there, yes?”

Pierre didn’t wait for an answer, or Dany didn’t, one of them hung up. It had to be Dany, Pierre never hung up during crisis conversations. Shit, the flight, Charles hadn’t even packed yet. He had to go out there and pack and find a way to talk to Lando, his husband. His heart felt like it was bursting out of his chest. His husband.

He pushed the door open slowly and found Lando pulling his shoes on. He was already fully-dressed, wearing a white polo shirt of Charles’s that looked incredible on him with his own jeans. His curls were all rumpled and his eyes were shining as he stood. His smile was very very happy and somehow kind of shy too.

“I’m sorry I have to run, but I promised George and Alex I’d brunch with them today and we’re getting an earlier flight,” Lando said, checking his pockets and nodding. 

“They’ll have terrible hangovers,” Charles replied numbly.

Lando laughed, it sounded mocking to Charles right now, “Alex is such a bitch the morning after. He drunk calls Lily though, and she keeps all the best messages to play us later. Wanna come for brunch?”

“I…” Charles glanced around the room, feeling like he’d just stepped into another universe. “I need to pack?”

Lando only looked a little disappointed. “Yeah, I got mine done before we went out last night. I’ll see you soon then.”

Then he kissed Charles, light and sweet, before disappearing out the door with that same happy shy smile. Charles didn’t think he’d ever seen that smile before today, was it just for him? And when did Lando get so organised that he packed before a party?

Charles blinked and tried to move, blindly putting clothes in bags, then stopped. Lando had kissed him last night, he remembered the feel of that mouth. George and Alex had told Pierre that he and Lando had passed out on the bed. Charles didn’t feel sore anywhere, he ducked into the bathroom again to quickly check his reflection - no bite marks. It didn’t seem like he’d had sex on his wedding night.

Back in the bedroom, Charles groaned, sinking down onto the bed. His head was spinning again. He’d had a wedding he couldn’t remember, but no wedding sex, with the friend he’d been secretly in love with for months now. And Lando was acting like he’d stepped out of a crazy date movie, like it was totally normal he was married to a friend he’d never flirted with. He deserved so much better.

Charles’s stomach growled and he fumbled with the room phone to order breakfast. He needed to pack and he needed to eat and he needed to get out of here. His mind felt like it was never gonna stop spinning again. Lando had kissed him, they were married.

Charles stayed in the shower for a long time after that, until he felt way more awake, and dressed in good flight clothes - jeans, t-shirt, Ferrari sweater. Lando was wearing one of his polo shirts, he’d looked so good in it. Charles licked his lips.

There was a knock at the door, Charles pretty much fell on the room service trolley once it was wheeled in. Maybe things would make more sense once he’d eaten. He was halfway through a second plate of croissants, ham and cheese, when he realised his phone was flashing. Oh, it was set on silent? There were a lot of messages building up there.

There were several from Max, all about wedding gifts?  _ Have you got a fondue set? Lando would love that. Film his first try, you’d get so many hits. _ _   
_ _ Have you got a four-slice toaster? You’ll need it with Lando. _

_ You’d better have a toaster! And a really big fridge? _

_ If you don’t already have a microwave, I take back my blessing. _

Charles gaped, since when did he have Max’s blessing at all? He was sure that Max would be trying to get him arrested or something, or plotting his murder. But Max seemed more concerned with kitchenware. Charles just about remembered to keep hold of the croissant in his increasingly-slack hand..

Another message from Max came in,  _ If you don’t answer in the next ten minutes, you’re getting a fruit bowl. _

It was followed by a message from Daniel,  _ You won’t just get a fruit bowl. How’d you like a slow-cooker too? Game changer. _

Charles managed to get his fingers working again,  _ Thank you. _

He couldn’t think of anything else to say except ‘why aren’t you threatening me? You’re okay with me marrying Lando?’. But every thought went out of his head when he found a message from Seb, Charles swallowed hard.

_ Tell me you wore a tie. _

Charles stared until the words blurred but they stayed the same. That was all Sebastian cared about, not Charles marrying someone out of nowhere, a fellow driver, and getting fearfully drunk doing it? Wasn’t Seb worried about Charles representing the team badly? Wasn’t he angry about Charles creating this PR nightmare? Wasn’t he angry with Charles for letting him down?

There was another message from Seb, only it was from Antonio using Seb’s phone apparently,  _ Send photos please! Antonio. _

Then another from Kimi, also from Seb’s phone,  _ You should do it again and invite more people. Kimi. _

That didn’t sound like a suggestion. Charles was tempted to message back saying there wasn’t gonna be a free bar but he knew it wasn’t all about the drinks. Also, Antonio and Kimi both had access to Seb’s phone? So maybe it was Seb and Kimi that Charles had seen last night and they’d been going up to Antonio’s room? Maybe Charles would send Seb an invite for him and two plus ones. 

He put his phone down and reached for the coffee pot. He had to keep his hands steady for that. Why was he even thinking about a second wedding? Why wasn’t anyone shouting at him? Threatening him? He’d married Lando. It was gonna be a media frenzy, and there were gonna be so many accusations about conspiring drivers and favouritism at races now.

His phone flashed again. Sipping coffee, he found a message from George,  _ Confirmation from the chapel about the NDAs, they’re used to it. Me and Al are making speeches at your next one. _

Charles grimaced, he hadn’t even thought about the wedding chapel staff. They could have made a lot of money off selling copies of the marriage license and any photos. George sent him photos of the NDAs and a message to say that Lando had the actual paper copies. It was something else Charles should have been aware of and taken care of himself but hadn’t. He kept sipping his coffee, thumbing to a message from Romain, asking if they needed a cake for a second ceremony, Kimi had said something. Romain had some very good recipes and he would be very happy to make a cake for them.

Sergio messaged with marriage advice. Hulkenberg messaged to complain about missing out and stating there’d better be a party to celebrate when everyone got home. More and more messages, offering congratulations and second wedding ideas.

Charles put his phone down, overwhelmed. It wasn’t just Pierre and Dany, everyone was acting like this was a romantic comedy. Why weren’t they furious with him? Charles was used to being accused of not deserving his seat, of not taking life or his career seriously enough, of not having to work for anything he’d achieved. Everyone loved and encouraged Lando, thanks to the combination of his undeniable on-track talent and genuine and entertaining personality off it. Charles was not going to ruin that for him.

He finished his coffee and his breakfast, catching sight of his wedding ring again. He was married to Lando. His heartbeat sped up, even as his stomach rolled with panicked worry..

His Dad would have loved Lando.

Charles rubbed his eyes, then looked at how much stuff was spread across the floor. Shit, right, he needed to pack. He shoved everything breakfast-related onto the trolley, then focused on packing everything up completely. When it was all packed and zipped into Charles’s cases, he did a quick check of the room and spied the marriage certificate on the nightstand.

He swallowed and carefully folded it up into his wallet. He ran a thumb over his wedding ring. He was rushing to the airport but not to stop anyone from leaving. This wasn’t that film.

///

A few of the other drivers were on the same flight, flashing him thumbs-up and genuine smiles. Charles searched their faces but saw nothing accusatory. Pierre squeezed his shoulder as he passed, hand in hand with Dany who was talking in Russian on the phone. By his tone, it was his daughter. Pierre had the softest look on his face, which became extremely touched and loving when Dany handed the phone to him.

Charles shoved his headphones on and pulled his hood up, ignoring everyone for the flight, trying to get a game plan in place. His phone was still lighting up with messages but he ignored them all as he stuck it on airplane mode.

His mind was still running fast when he got back to Monaco, to his apartment. It was quiet in the building, being the middle of the day, but Charles could hear someone humming behind his front door. It got louder when he went into his apartment and into his kitchen.

Lando was standing in the kitchen, pouring tea. Had Charles always owned a teapot? Lando was still wearing Charles’s white polo shirt, now with an old pair of shorts. He smiled broadly and warmly when he saw Charles. Charles dropped his suitcases, his keys falling to the floor too, his eyes fixed on Lando. He spent a lot of time doing that usually, when he’d been sure no one was looking.

“Welcome home,” Lando said, stirring the tea, looking like he couldn’t stop smiling, his eyes even looked like they were shining.

Charles shook his head faintly, feeling full of numb amazement, “I...how?”

“I showed the manager our marriage certificate, and a photo from last night. I have my own key now.”

Charles’s mouth was totally dry. He shook his head again. Lando was in his apartment, making tea. Was the craziness ever going to stop at this point? Charles felt like if he touched Lando now, the Brit would disappear.

And Lando was looking at him so warmly, so….lovingly? Charles stared harder.

“Charles, did something happen?” Lando asked, concerned now, a hand at Charles’s elbow.

Charles wanted to laugh very loudly, he wanted to laugh until his day started to make sense. He shook his head, his expression twisting, his head spinning.

“Charles-.”

“This is not a romantic comedy!” he interrupted, his voice cracking. “We got drunk and married in Vegas! People should be angry and telling me what a terrible influence I am! Why is everyone acting like this is so normal?”

Lando’s face was very concerned now and his expression was sort of falling. His eyes weren’t shining anymore and Charles hated that. He also realised he’d been starting to shout. 

“Do you not want this to be normal?” asked Lando.

Charles swallowed dryly. His head was slowing down now. Lando was still touching his elbow and he was close to Charles and he was  **serious** , like he wanted this and he wanted Charles to want it too. Charles’s heartbeat got Mercedes-fast. He was so aware of Lando’s warm touch, even through his jacket. This was real? Lando wanted to be married to him?

Charles nodded slowly, like the wrong movement would make this all vanish. Lando smiled brilliantly and unzipped Charles’s jacket, helping him out of it, their gazes locked. He kissed Charles again, lingering this time and so tender. Charles brushed fingers to Lando’s waist, then rested his hand there, because apparently he could. Giddy awed happiness slowly started dancing up his spine. He smiled into the kiss.

“Welcome home,” Lando murmured as they parted.

And Charles had to kiss him again, pulling Lando close, grinning into the kiss. Lando thought this was home. Lando had come here, to be with Charles. When the kiss slowed, he kept Lando close, running a hand over the ring on Lando’s finger. He wished he remembered putting it there.

“I drank a lot last night,” he murmured quietly.

Lando laughed, “Yeah, and you tried climbing onto one of the card tables to sing to the whole casino.”

“Was it about your eyes?”

“You compared them to casino chips and coins out of the slot machines,” Lando nudged him gently, smiling fondly. “You remember way more than you thought you would.”

Charles gaped at him, “I do?”

Lando’s smile became even more fond and he kissed Charles very gently, “One of my vows was to remind you of everything you’d forget about our amazing wedding night.”

Drunk Charles knew this was going to happen. Charles shook his head in amazement, his arms tightening around Lando.

“What else did I want to be reminded of?”

“That you really wanted this, that you’ve really wanted this for a long time, and that you love me.”

Fuck. Lando kissed Charles’s throat, eyes shining again, “And I said I’d remind you that I’d wanted this for a long time as well and that I love you too. That's when you started singing again.”

Lando loved him. Lando had heard him singing and still loved him. Charles’s heartbeat was beyond even Mercedes now. Lando kissed his jaw, and then his mouth.

“Another vow I made was that I’d come to your flat and be here to welcome you home with a cup of tea. You insisted it was  **our** flat now.”

Charles’s giddy awed happiness was back in full-force again. How could it not be? He held Lando close, “ _ Oui _ .”

Lando snuggled against Charles’s chest. Charles kissed the top of his head, still disbelievingly awed. Lando loved him.

“I really am in a romantic comedy,” Charles stated faintly.

Lando grinned up at him, “Nice of you to catch up.”

They grinned at each other until Charles felt his phone buzz in his pocket, “The paddock is planning our second wedding.”

Lando’s eyes went even brighter, “Will Romain make a cake?”

“I think they'll organise the whole thing if they get an invite.”

Lando laughed, “How mad was Seb? You talked about that a lot.”

Charles’s expression twisted, “He was very...understanding.”

“Ouch,” Lando smiled though. “Until we can make it up to him, do you want tea or do you want to make some new memories?”

His eyes had gone smoky now. It made Charles’s dick stir, a fact Lando was obviously aware of as he pressed a thigh against it. Charles’s next breath sounded punched-out. Shit, that was hot.

“I am very glad I will remember this,” he said with a nod.

Lando smirked and took Charles by the hand, leading him past the lounge and into the bedroom which was another surprise. It was dark with the blinds drawn and there were lit candles on several surfaces. The duvet was pulled back on the bed and suitcases that Charles didn’t recognise were pushed neatly into a corner.

Charles looked at Lando in fresh amazement; this was a side of Lando he had never seen before; organised, romantic. Lando held Charles’s hand, obviously reading Charles’s thoughts from his expression.

“Not everything about me is public.”

Charles nodded, of course, “I’ll keep it to myself.”

Lando’s smirk was back, “That’s the idea.”

He slid his shorts off. His feet were bare already and he was a sight in just Charles’s shirt. Charles ran his hands up under the fabric, then down across Lando’s pert arse, savouring Lando’s sighs and how he pushed into Charles’s touch. His eyes were incredibly smoky again.

Charles moved suddenly, picking Lando up, causing the smaller man to laugh, “It’s tradition, isn’t it?”

“It  **is** over some kind of threshold,” Lando agreed, drawing Charles into the deepest kiss yet between them.

It felt claiming. It didn’t stop for some time, untl Charles carefully set Lando down on his bed, their bed, and stripped off their clothes. Then he found the lube and condom so considerately placed under a pillow. He opened Lando up slowly, not wanting to miss a single sound. He’d missed out on enough. Lando was tight but so willing, he cried out without embarrassment and when Charles finally slid into him, he groaned like it was something he’d been waiting for for years.

“ _ Mi amor,”  _ Charles murmured, overwhelmed.

It was all he could say. Every other thought had gone, except for Lando, here in his arms, full of him. Lando slid a hand through Charles’s hair and tugged him down for another deep claiming kiss. Charles fucked him slowly, learning what speed got Lando swearing for more, until Lando said,

“Husband.”

Oh fuck, heat shot through Charles and he fucked Lando faster, hot and full of love for the man under him, his husband. Neither of them lasted long, crying out, falling into loving kisses that expressed everything else.

After Charles had gotten rid of the condom and cleaned them both up - wipes were handily close by too - he curled up around Lando, on their sheets, on their bed. Their rings shone in the candlelight.

Charles pulled a face, “I’ll buy you a better ring.”

“Yeah, how many diamonds?”

Charles kissed Lando, running a hand down his warm beautiful body, “As many as it takes to match how gorgeous you are.”

Lando hummed, “Good husband points for you.”

Charles stroked Lando’s left hand, “And I didn’t even get you an engagement ring. We have a lot of shopping to do.”

“We need to buy a second wedding,” Lando reminded him with a happy smile. “And I’ll upgrade your simulator.”

“ **Excellent** husband points.”

Lando was smirking again, “Go get us our tea and have clothes on standby, I ordered takeaway and it’s due in half an hour.”

Charles kissed him hungrily in every sense, aware of how long it’d been since he’d last eaten, “Best husband points.”

He got up slowly, not wanting to be away from his warm wanting husband for long. Lando smiled up at him with shining eyes that were starting to turn smoky again. He’d married Charles when Charles had been drunk enough to sing in public. He’d secretly loved Charles, while Charles had secretly loved him. Charles trailed a hand down Lando’s leg before finally leaving.

“I love this romantic comedy,” he called back over his shoulder.

“I love this view,” Lando replied.

It was Charles’s turn to smirk now, putting a sway into his hips.

A month later, a joint statement was released by Charles and Lando after their wedding, thanking fans for all their kind words and support since they’d announced their engagement. All the grid had attended, as well as friends and family, and everyone had been generous with their wedding gifts, though the happy couple asked fans to donate in their name to Mind.

Everyone had also enjoyed, and was still talking about, the three-tier chocolate sponge wedding cake layered with rich chocolate ganache, baked by Romain.

The statement was accompanied by a single photo, the only one released from the wedding. It showed Charles and Lando, both in expensive tailored suits and simple matching button-holes. But close-ups showed that Lando was wearing Day-Glo Quadrant socks and that their buttonholes included a casino chip among the flowers. Their rings sparkled with diamonds.

Charles wore a tie.

**Author's Note:**

> I have no idea where this came from, but panicked Charles was fun to write.   
> I hope you guys enjoyed it too.  
> Please feed the author and let me know, kudos and comments welcome :)


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